History of the Term "Palestinian"
The History of the Term “Palestinian”: From Ancient Times to Modern Identity
By Violette Blue, 13.08.2025
When we talk about the land called Israel or Palestine, it’s easy to get tangled in timelines and identities. Let’s clear things up by tracing the history of the term “Palestinian” and what the land looked like through the ages.
Before Moses: The Israelites Were Already in Canaan
Contrary to popular belief, the Israelites weren't strangers to the land before Moses led them out of Egypt. According to the biblical book of Genesis, there was a severe famine in Canaan that forced Jacob—also known as Israel, the founder of the twelve tribes—and his family to move temporarily to Egypt in search of food and shelter. So, the Israelites had deep roots in the land of Canaan long before the Exodus story.
This means that when Moses is said to have brought the Israelites back from Egypt, it was more like a return to their ancestral homeland rather than a brand-new conquest.
Moses’ Time: No Palestinians Yet
Moses is traditionally dated to around the 13th or 15th century BCE. The land was populated by various groups such as the Canaanites and others, but the people we now call Palestinians didn’t exist. The Philistines, whose name is connected to the term “Palestine,” settled along the southern coast only around the 12th century BCE, after Moses’ era.
So, during Moses’ time, the region was a patchwork of tribes and peoples, but “Palestinian” as an identity was not in the picture.
The Philistines and Ancient Canaan
The Philistines were a sea-faring group that settled in parts of Canaan, mainly along the coast. Their name became the root for the Greek term “Palaistinē,” which later morphed into “Palestine.” But this was just a geographic label, not a national or ethnic identity.
Jesus’ Time: A Mix of Populations, No “Palestinians”
Jump forward about a thousand years to the early 1st century CE, when Jesus lived. The land was under Roman rule, called Judea and neighboring regions. Populations included Jews, Samaritans, Greeks, Romans, and others. The Romans had not yet renamed the area “Palestine”—that came later.
In Jesus’ time, “Palestinian” was not a used term. People identified mainly by religion, tribe, or city, not by a Palestinian national identity.
The Roman Rename: From Judea to Syria Palaestina
Around 135 CE, after the Bar Kokhba revolt, the Romans renamed the province from Judea to “Syria Palaestina.” This wasn’t a random change—it was a deliberate move to diminish Jewish connections to the land by replacing the historic name Judea with one linked to the ancient Philistines, longtime enemies of the Israelites.
This renaming laid the foundation for the geographic term “Palestine,” but it still didn’t represent a specific ethnic group.
Centuries of Change: Palestine as a Place, Not a People
For centuries afterward, “Palestine” was simply a geographic name under various empires: Byzantine, Islamic caliphates, Crusader states, and Ottoman rule. The people living there were diverse—Arabs, Jews, Christians, Druze, and others—but “Palestinian” as a national identity hadn’t yet formed.
The Birth of Modern Palestinian Identity
The term “Palestinian” as an ethnic and national identity only emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It developed among the Arab population living in the region, largely in response to rising nationalism worldwide and the increasing Jewish immigration during the British Mandate after World War I.
The establishment of Israel in 1948 and the displacement of many Arabs further solidified “Palestinian” as a powerful identity tied to heritage, land, and political struggle.
So, Thank the Romans and the Arabs (or Whatever You Want to Call It)
Kudos to the Romans for their clever—or call it ruthless—political move to rename Judea as “Syria Palaestina,” a tactic designed to erase Jewish ties to the land. And shout out to the Arab population for shaping the modern Palestinian identity centuries later, in response to the tides of history.
Those who question things seek wisdom; those who don’t sometimes get swept up in whatever narrative comes their way. So, if you’re still curious and digging deeper, you’re already ahead of the game. (Lol.)
In Summary
- Genesis 12:1-7 The Promised Land refers to the land of Canaan, which God promised to Abraham and his descendants, the Israelites.
- Before Moses, the Israelites were already in Canaan but moved to Egypt during a famine.
- During Moses’ time (13th-15th century BCE), the land had many tribes but no Palestinians.
- The Philistines arrived after Moses, giving their name to the region later called Palestine.
- In Jesus’ lifetime (early 1st century CE), the population was mixed, and the term “Palestinian” wasn’t used.
- After the Roman renaming post-135 CE, “Palestine” became a geographic label, not an ethnic identity.
- The modern Palestinian identity arose only in the late 19th century, tied to Arab nationalism and political developments.
History isn’t always clean or simple. But understanding these twists and turns gives you a sharper lens on a complicated past—and who knows, maybe a little more wisdom too.
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